Queen-of-the-Prairie
Filipendula rubra
Fluffy rose-pink plumes tower 4 to 7 feet in midsummer with a light, sweet fragrance. Spreads into bold colonies in moist meadows and rain gardens.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Nothing else in the native perennial palette makes this kind of impact in a moist border in July. towering pink plumes that glow in the afternoon light.
Queen-of-the-Prairie earns its name in midsummer when the towering flower plumes open in fluffy clouds of deep rose-pink. Reaching 4–7 feet, the blooms stand high above the rest of the garden, swaying in a breeze and catching light in a way that makes the whole plant glow on a July afternoon. The fragrance is light and sweet, the kind that reaches you before you see the plant. It's a prairie and wet meadow plant that spreads by rhizomes to form bold colonies over time. The deeply cut, pinnate leaves have tropical texture and turn yellow in fall. Give it a moist spot at the back of a border, a rain garden edge, or a low meadow area and it will naturalize and expand year after year with essentially no maintenance.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown queen-of-the-prairie propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 4–7 ft · 24–48 in wide
- Bloom time
- Midsummer, late summer
- Bloom color
- Pink
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native range
- Eastern and Central United States
Care notes for queen-of-the-prairie.
Full sun to part shade in moist to wet, fertile soil. The more moisture the better. this is a stream-bank and wet meadow plant at heart. Spreads by rhizomes; divide every few years to prevent overcrowding. Cut back to ground in late fall. Divide and share: it spreads generously. Good cut flower.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside queen-of-the-prairie.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.